The Fraumünster (; lit. in ) is a church in

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

which was built on the remains of a former abbey for aristocratic women which was founded in 853 by

Louis the German Louis the German (German language, German: ''Ludwig der Deutsche''; c. 806/810 – 28 August 876), also known as Louis II of Germany (German language, German: ''Ludwig II. von Deutschland''), was the first king of East Francia, and ruled from 8 ...

for his daughter Hildegard. He endowed the

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

convent with the lands of Zürich, Uri, and the Albis forest, and granted the convent immunity, placing it under his direct authority. Today, it belongs to the Evangelical Reformed Church of the canton of Zürich and is one of the four main churches of

, the others being the Grossmünster, Prediger and St. Peter's churches.

History

In 1045, King Henry III granted the convent the right to hold markets, collect tolls, and mint coins, and thus effectively made the abbess the ruler of the city. Emperor Frederick II granted the abbey '' Reichsunmittelbarkeit'' in 1218, thus making it territorially independent of all authority save that of the Emperor himself, and increasing the political power of the abbess. The abbess assigned the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

, and she frequently delegated the minting of coins to citizens of the city. A famous abbess during this time of great power was Elisabeth of Wetzikon. However, the political power of the convent slowly waned in the fourteenth century, beginning with the establishment of the ''Zunftordnung'' (

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...

laws) in 1336 by Rudolf Brun, who also became the first independent mayor, i.e. not assigned by the abbess. The abbey was dissolved on 30 November 1524 in the course of the

reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

Huldrych Zwingli Huldrych or Ulrich Zwingli (1 January 1484 – 11 October 1531) was a Swiss Christian theologian, musician, and leader of the Reformation in Switzerland. Born during a time of emerging Swiss patriotism and increasing criticism of the Swis ...

, supported by the last abbess, Katharina von Zimmern. The monastery buildings were destroyed in 1898 to make room for the new Stadthaus. The church building today serves as the parish church for one of the city's 34 reformed parishes. Münsterhof, historically the main square and marketplace of the medieval city, is named for the abbey. Gesellschaft zu Fraumünster cultivates the traditions of the former nunnery convent.

Chagall windows

The choir of the abbey includes 5 large stained glass windows designed by artist

Marc Chagall Marc Chagall (born Moishe Shagal; – 28 March 1985) was a Russian and French artist. An early modernism, modernist, he was associated with the School of Paris, École de Paris, as well as several major art movement, artistic styles and created ...

and installed in 1970. Each of the 5 has a dominant color and depicts a Biblical story. From left (northern wall) to right, the 5 works are: * Prophets, depicting Elijah's ascent to heaven * Jacob, displaying his combat, and dreams of heaven * Christ, illustrating various scenes of Christ's life * Zion, showing an angel trumpeting the end of the world * Law, with Moses looking down upon the suffering of his people Equally impressive is the 9m tall stained glass of the North transept, created by Augusto Giacometti in 1940.

Fraumünster's Crypt museum

Since the last renovation in 1900, the

crypt A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...

under the choir of the Fraumünster abbey was sealed, and has made public since 19 June 2016. The oldest part of the church preserved the abbey's Holy Relics until the Reformation in Zürich banned the Roman Catholic veneration of saints. The foundations of the crypt date back to the 9th century when the abbey was founded. The crypt also comprises an exhibition on the history of the Reformation in Zürich, on the architecture and local history, assisted by a multimedia information system that illustrates the foundation fragments of the crypt, and how the church was rebuilt from the original Romanesque construction phase to its present Gothic appearance, on occasion of its establishment guided by Dölf Wild, the archaeologist in charge.

Facilities

For the around 500,000 visitors every year a new developed visitor management started in June 2016. Visitors groups up to 60 persons are admitted from June 20 only by appointment and only in defined time windows. Guided tours are allowed only in a "whisper" modus, and by accredited tour guides, from 10 am to 4 pm in winter, and to 5 pm and 6 pm in spring respectively summer.

The organ

With 6.959 pipes, the organ at Fraumünster is the largest in the canton of Zurich.

Gallery

File:Fraumünster tower.jpg, Fraumünster church tower File:Zürich - Fraumünster - Poststrasse IMG 6215 ShiftN.jpg, Fraumünster as seen from ''Poststrasse'' towards Paradeplatz File:Zürich - Fraumünster - Münsterhof - Zunfthaus zur Meisen - Sicht vom Grossmünster Karlsturm IMG 6390.JPG, Fraumünster, Münsterhof and Zunfthaus zur Meisen as seen from Grossmünster File:Zürich - Fraumünster - Kreuzgang IMG 1158 ShiftN.jpg,

Fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

by Paul Bodmer in Fraumünster's former cloister File:Fraumünster - Kreuzgang - Bodmer-Freso Felix-Regula-Exuperantius 2011-06-15 13-01-32.jpg, Zürich's saints on a fresco by Paul Bodmer: Exuperantius, Felix and Regula File:Fraumünster - Kreuzgang - Paul Bodmer 2010-08-28 19-05-48 ShiftN.jpg,

by Paul Bodmer in former cloister

Abbesses

There have been at least 29 abbesses in the building's history:nach Vogelsanger, Zürich und sein Fraumünster, S. 279. * Hildegard (828–856 or 859), first abbess of Fraumünster Abbey * Bertha (857–877?), daughter of

* Richardis (878–893), wife of Emperor Charles the Fat * Kunigunde (893–?) * Gisela before (929–?) * Regelinda (929–958), wife of von Herzog Burchard II. von Schwaben * Uta (ca. 980) * Ermentrudis (ca. 995–ca. 1030) * Irmgart (1037–1045) * Hedwig von Wolhusen (ca. 1070–?) * Mechtild von Tirol (1143–1172) * A. ? (ca. 1212) * Gisela von Spiegelberg (1218–1221) * Adelheid von Murkart (1222–1224) * Judenta von Hagenbuch (1229–1254) * Elisabeth von Schneckenburg (1255) * Mechtild von Wunnenberg (1255–1268) * Elisabeth von Wetzikon (1270–1298) * Elisabeth von Spiegelberg (1298–1308) * Elisabeth von Matzingen (1308–1340) * Fides von Klingen (1340–1358) * Beatrix von Wolhusen (1358–1398) * Anna von Bussnang (1398–1404) * Benedikta von Bechburg (1404–1412) * Anastasia von Hohenklingen (1412–1429) * Anna von Hewen (1429–1484) * Sibylla von Helfenstein (1484–1487) * Elisabeth von Weissenburg (1487–1496) * Katharina von Zimmern (1496–1524)

Cultural heritage of national importance

In the

Swiss inventory of cultural property of national and regional significance #REDIRECT Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance {{R from other capitalisation ...

the Fraumünster is listed as a ''Class A'' object of national importance.

Literature

* Peter Vogelsanger: ''Zürich und sein Fraumünster. Eine elfhundertjährige Geschichte (853–1956)''. NZZ Libro, Zürich 1994,

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fraumunster Benedictine monasteries in Switzerland Benedictine nunneries in Switzerland Museums in Zurich Archaeological museums in Switzerland Archaeological sites in Switzerland History of Zurich Reformed churches in Zurich Cultural property of national significance in the canton of Zurich Christian monasteries established in the 9th century Establishments in the Carolingian Empire Gothic architecture in Switzerland 853 establishments Religious buildings and structures completed in the 850s 9th-century establishments in Switzerland